


The Night of the Storm

by Chippani



Series: The Road Home [1]
Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Queen for a day fic that no one asked for, i was feeling angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 04:34:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chippani/pseuds/Chippani
Summary: Just a quick look into our favorite alchemist during the storm in Queen for a Day. After his song, of course.Aka: the moment when everything went wrong.





	The Night of the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely what happened to him in the long road ahead. He never goes into that though, so I figured a one shot would be best.  
> I can't say it's what happened in canon, but that doesn't really matter.
> 
> I'll give a warning here because it only happens once, but there is some suicide ideation. It'll be striked through, but I know that it's a bit triggering.

Varian shivered as the wind rushed past him, carrying snow and lifting his cloak, but he didn't care. He was so close now, the castle was right in front of him. He opened a single door and slipped inside the palace, pushing the door closed once again. The warmth of the inside gave him newfound strength. He set his staff against the wall and rubbed his hands together, trying to get feeling back in his fingers. He shivered. The sound of someone approaching got his attention and he turned to look.

"Hey!" One of the guards shouted. He recognized him as Pete, though he'd only really seen him a few times. He was flanked by Stan. At least, he assumed it was Stan.

"Were you just out in that storm?" They seemed concerned.

"I need to speak with princess Rapunzel!"

They jumped. His shout was full of desperation. They shook their heads and started to speak, but he coculdn't take no for an answer. He slipped past them and started running. They were clearly caught off guard by his actions and took chase. He knew the layout of the castle from his visits, and he used that to his advantage. It was just his luck that he guessed which room he'd find her in correctly.

"Princess Rapunzel!" He cried out when he saw her. It immediately got her attention and he felt a bit of relief.

"Sorry princess," Pete said as the captain caught him. "He ran right past us." He struggled to get free. Cassandra stared at him in shock, but he couldn't think about her at the moment. "Wait, it's okay." She raised her hand and the captain let him go. He gasped for air for a moment.

"Rapunzel!" All eyes were on him now, "My dad's in danger, you  **have to** come to Old Corona with me. _**Now!**_ "

Her eyes widened and she looked to the others. Then she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, leading him out to the hall so they could talk. He glanced at the people staring at him for a moment. A mother and her son huddled closer under a blanket.  _Too painful_ , he looked away from them.

"Varian, what's wrong?"

"Please! Please, the rocks!" He was frantically trying to string thoughts together. "They're encasing my dad!"

" _Encasing?!"_ there was a soft gasp from the room. Most likely Cassandra. "Wh-what are you saying?" He turned and gestured for her to follow. "Come- come see for yourself!" He started down the hall, "you can help, I d- I know you can! You have a connection to these rocks-"

"Varian, it's a state of emergency here. I'm sorry, I-" he turned back to look at her, panic in his eyes. "I-I can't help you," she stammered, "not right now."

"NO!" He ran back over, "no n-no no, listen to me!" He paused to breathe, "my dad doesn't have much time, you're the only one who can help. Rapunzel, please!" He clasped his hands in front of him. His eyes glistening with tears threatening to spill over.

Nigel appoached, brows furrowed, "your majesty, please. Whatever the boy's problem is, it must be set aside." She looked to the advisor. Panic clenched his chest, and he shook his head. "The storm is growing stronger by the second, we  ** _need_** to make a dicision!"

"No!" He cried out and grabbed her arm, spinning them around so she could focus on him. It was something his father had done often to get him to focus. "No no-no please!" Nigel waved the guards over. "Please, princess! You y-wh- you promised you'd help me! You promised!" His voice cracked. They grabbed his arms and started dragging him away. 

"Rapunzel! Princess! My dad needs help!"

"No, don't hurt him!" He could see her reach out for a moment, but she didn't attempt to go after them. His heart fell and he started to feel something growing within him. 

"Rapunzel!" He cried out as they got further from her, "you promised!" They went around the corner and a tear rolled down his cheek. "YOU PROMISED!"

"Kid, you have to calm down." Stan said softly. "No-" his voice faltered. "Look kid, we're really sorry, but the princess can't help you right now. You need to get to the shelter in your village-"

"NO!" He broke out of their grasp. They kept him trapped near the door. "There- my village doesn't- my dad-!" He froze. He'd spent too much time begging for help. His father was alone, and he'd left him like that. He turned and grabbed his staff before hurrying out. "Kid!" They called after him, their voices lost in the wind.

The storm was worse now. The wind knocked him over when he reached the mainland. He pushed himself up, spitting the snow out of his mouth. He didn't have the time to stop. His father needed him. He might  _die, ~~and it was all his fault.~~_ ~~~~

The realization hit him harder than the wind ever could. He couldn't process anything in that moment. It was difficult to breath and the world was spinning, slipping from underneath him. All he could hear was his heart beating in his ears, ~~ _and he wanted it to stop forever._~~

A tree fell in front of him and he snapped out of his thoughts, locking them away for his father's  ~~and his~~ safety. He had to get home.

He barely noticed when he rose to his feet, or when his legs started pumping beneath him. He just watched the road in front of him. It was just him and the road. That was all that needed to exist at the moment. It felt like his legs were on fire. Then he saw it. The village.

He ignored the rocks, got up when he tripped and ran to his home. He called out, trying to reassure his dad that he was back. That he was as okay as he could be, but when he reached his lab, the words died in his throat. The sight of his father suspended inside the golden rock made what was left of the world crumble away.

"Dad?" His own voice was foreign to him. He ran to him, tossing the staff aside and pounding his fists on the rock. Nothing happened. "Dad! DAD-dy" his voice warped with the sobs he was holding back. Then the first sob broke through and his knees gave out. The thing within him was growing slowly.

 _It's too late, I didn't make it back in time. ~~I failed him again.~~_  He stopped. The thought disappeared almost as quickly as it popped up.  _It's their fault. They turned me away in my moment of need._

Then it took over. The anger that had been growing deep within him burst out. He rose to his feet and clenched his fists. They would pay for what  ~~he'd~~ they'd done. His cries for help would never be ignored again.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry it's nearly word-for-word the episode, I just felt a lot of the dialogue was really important. Plus I really doubt that Varian could forget a single word of it.
> 
> A lot of people think Stan and Pete threw him out, but it's out of character for them. This just made more sense.


End file.
